After Diego Maradona’s tragic passing, Messi paid his respects to his idol with a praised goal celebration.
It has been almost two months since one of football’s biggest legends left us. Diego Armando Maradona passed away suddenly and left many of the game’s stars mourning for their idol.
Lionel Messi was no exception. As an Argentinian himself, Leo grew up with Maradona as his idol. In fact, the midfielder took his first steps in football in his idol’s former club Newell’s Old Boys. Therefore, it seemed like a fitting tribute when the Barcelona star put on Maradona’s old shirt after scoring a goal.
However, the celebration technically went against the Spanish Federation’s rules. Although many argued the committee shouldn’t punish Messi for the action, the player was sentenced to a €600 fine for the celebration back in December.
Recently, Barcelona had filed an appeal asking the committee to overturn their decision. The club argued that there should be an exception to the rule, given that it was “an homage to a legend of football.”
Despite this, the Spanish Football Federation decided to fine Messi for breaking article 91 of the Spanish FA Disciplinary Code. Now, Barcelona’s only option is to file another appeal to the Administrative Court of Sport (CAS) within 15 working days. However, the club is yet to confirm if they will take such action.
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